This invention relates generally to wheelchair brake assemblies and particularly to an assembly which is actuated by movement of the wheelchair arm rest.
Conventional wheelchairs, including the type which are folded for storage purposes, are invariably fitted with hand-operated brakes. These brakes engage the main drive wheels of the wheelchair, and are applied by the user, or a helper, before the user is seated in the wheelchair so that the wheelchair is stabilized. The brakes are released by hand once the user is seated to permit the wheelchair to become mobile. They are reapplied when the user wishes to leave the wheelchair.
Brakes of this conventional type are adequate when the user is not seriously physically handicapped and is in complete control of his mental faculties. However, when the user is handicapped to the point of being unable to operate the hand brake when he is occupying the chair, or being unable to stoop to operate the hand brake before he occupies the chair, they are quite inadequate. A seriously handicapped user, attempting unaided to get into a wheelchair, which is not locked into a stationary position, is faced with a difficult and dangerous task. Further, an unbraked wheelchair, which is used as a temporary support to assist in walking also presents a serious hazard to the user.
Because of this, various attempts have been made to provide an alternative wheelchair braking system.
The most pertinent known disclosure of an alternative wheelchair braking system which relates to the use of an arm rest in the operation of the system, is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,426,451. This system relies for its operation on the use of a wheelchair arm rest which is in the form of an overhanging strip metal spring having a layer of brake shoe material underneath it which directly engages the wheel.
The present brake assembly represents an improvement over this and other known systems as will now be described.